Categories
Journalistic Survey
Articles
Reportage
Analitic
Photo Reportage
Exclusive
Interview
Foreign Media about Georgia
Editorial
Position
Reader's opinion
Blog
Themes
Children's Rights
Women's Rights
Justice
Refugees/IDPs
Minorities
Media
Army
Health
Corruption
Elections
Education
Penitentiary
Religion
Others

Russian Soldiers Kidnap People from Borderline Villages and Take Them to Tskhinvali

April 29, 2014
 
Lado Bichashvili, Shida Kartli

Tskhinvali de-facto government requests exchange of people convicted for Gori terrorist act in exchange of Georgian prisoners. 

Eight citizens of Georgia were convicted for illegal crossing of the so-called border. Four Georgian people, who were arrested for the last time, are in Tskhinvali pretrial detention setting and expect either imprisonment or release under fine.

Arbitrary detention of people in the occupied territories of the conflict-affected region was the main topic at the Incident Prevention and Response Mechanism meeting on April 28. Georgian side requested release of the detainees.

Russian military forces arrested seven citizens of Georgia for the past few days – among them were three women, who were already released but four are still in prison. 

Tskhinvali de-facto authority released Rusudan Khuroshvili, Zeinab Kharkheli and Lali Khuroshvili under bail – 6 000 rubles. The released women said Ossetian relatives paid their bails.

Three days ago, Russian soldiers arrested Merab Kapanadze from Tseronisi village. Whereabouts of former soldier Roman Shitikov were not identified so far; according to the spread information he was kidnapped from Karapila village, Kaspi district. Ossetian side neither denies nor confirms detention fact of Shitikov. During the IPRM meeting in Ergneti, information about detention of two more Georgian citizens was also spread. Russian soldiers arrested Besik Gelashvili and Giorgi Kharazishvili from Kldistskaro village, Khashuri district. They were detained in the vicinities of Torchana village on the ABL, when they were collecting staphylea. 

According to the current information, there are 11 Georgian citizens in Tskhinvali prison; 8 of them were convicted to imprisonment; three are in pretrial detention setting waiting for the decision of the Tskhinvali court. As for one more Georgian citizen Roman Shitikov, his location is not known because being a former soldier he might be placed in separate cell.

De-fact government requests release of three Ossetian prisoners from Georgian prison in exchange of freedom of Georgian citizens; those three people were sentenced for terrorist act in Gori. Head of analytic department at the MIA Gocha Ratiani is very careful when commenting on this issue.

Gocha Ratiani, head of Analytic Department at the MIA: “We will discuss all alleged arbitrary detentions, which took place until present. We will also study conditions of our citizens in Tskhinvali prisons. Among them is Shitikov’s case. According to our information, he is arrested but we will request more detailed information. As for exchange of prisoners, this issue shall be more carefully studied and I cannot say anything at this moment.”

Meeting in the frame of the IPRM finished without concrete result; parties just exchanged information. 

News